Sunday, 5 August 2012

Wholemeal pretzels and Pea soup

Soft pretzels, fresh from the oven, are one of life's little pleasures. I first discovered them on a visit to New York many years ago. Now we can find them in the markets and pubs of Melbourne. Yet I have long had a yen to bake them at home. A couple of weeks back I was preparing to bake a loaf of bread and suddenly I was distracted by a pretzel recipe I bookmarked ages ago.

When I tried pretzel buns last year they were disappointing. Despite all my problems in my recent venture, these pretzels were a huge success. I had thought they would be lots of fun to make with Sylvia. Once I divided up the dough into 8, she had her own piece to roll out. She rolled out a snake, made a doughnut, remade it as spectacles to wear, and then wanted to make the dough into a birthday cake for Dolly. We got out some fancy toothpicks to decorate it. Then we disagreed about whether that dough became the eighth pretzel. Argh!

My timing was also out with either letting the dough rise too long or forgetting it altogether (in the last rise). I made the pretzels between making chocolate macaroons with Sylvia, preparing her dinner, bringing in the washing, and making a case for why Sylvia should eat her dinner. And when I finally got the pretzels in the oven, I remembered I hadn't salted them. I took them straight out, sprinkled a little salt, Sylvia sprinkled a lot more. But I couldn't do anything to take the shine off these gorgeous knots of dough.

I had planned to make a chickpea, potato and tomato stew for dinner. The pretzels were so substantial and time-consuming that I postponed the stew and simplified the rest of dinner. Jules at Stone Soup, with her minimalist recipes, is the perfect place to go for simplicity. It is not my thing so I took a two ingredients recipe and added in a bit extra. The Pea and Pesto Soup had instantly gone on my to do list. I only added stock, seasoning and rice. It was easy and delicious.

The other little extra to serve with the pretzels was a tofu cashew ricotta. It was delicious a spread and even added a wee garnish to the soup. Dinner was delicious. I was pleased to have enough leftovers to take for lunch the next day. The biggest surprise was at breakfast when I had a pretzel and found somehow one of Sylvia's toothpicks had gotten into the pretzel dough! Oops!

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl to form a ball of dough. (I added another 1-3 tbsp water because mine was so dry. This made it too wet so I had to knead in a little extra flour. Possibly this was a result of using some wholemeal flour.) Knead about 5 minutes or until it is soft and smooth (King Arthur says it should also be quite slack but I am not sure mine was).

Cover with clingwrap and leave for about 30 minutes. (I left mine for longer.) While the dough is proving, place the bicarb of soda into a large container in which you will bathe the pretzels (I think my casserole dish that I used is about 22cm square). Pour boiling water over and stir until the bicarb dissolves. (Traditionally lye is used here, but bicarb seems acceptable in home cooking.)

I found a useful post on how to shape pretzels in The Kitchn. Roll each piece into a long stick. King Arthur said to make it about 28-30 inches (70-76 cm) but I couldn't get my head around this length so I just did 6 of my handspans (and my hands aren't huge).

Shape stick of dough into a U shape.

Twist the ends twice.

Fold the twisted end down onto the bottom of the U shape to make a pretzel shape. Sylvia has put her 3 year old hand beside it to show that my pretzels weren't huge.

Place pretzels in the bicarb soda and water mixture for 2 minutes each, spooning water over the dough. King Arthur suggested that you might fit in 4 at a time but I only fitted in 2 at a time.

Place 'soaked' pretzels on large lined baking tray. King Arthur says to rest 10 minutes but I forgot this (and it wasn't a disaster). Sprinkle with sea salt if desired (ideally not the liberally sprinkling of a 3 year old) and bake for 9 minutes or until golden brown.

When the pretzels come out of the oven, brush with melted butter. King Arthur instruct to use all of 3 tablespoons of melted butter. I used about 1 tablespoon and thought that was quite enough. Great eaten warm. Ours were still good the next day too, especially if lightly warmed.

I had a chuckle after reading the title of your post as I made pretzels to have with soup last week too! Your pretzels look fantastic and I love the extra effort you went to in getting the twists right.

Thanks Ricki - it was a great dinner - mel who commented above made some pretzels and I think hers were a lot bigger than mine because she seemed to roll hers out a lot longer but she also made less so if I had done them at 30 inches they would have been much skinnier

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Recipes and reflections in which our vegetarian heroine dreams of being tall and graceful as a giraffe; being a goddess in the kitchen; and being gladdened by green gadgets, green food and green politics because green is the colour of hope. See About Me for more info.